Full disclosure: I want to live in Halstead one day. My boyfriend was born and raised in “The Biggest Little City in Kansas,” and during our relationship, I have come to really love the place.
Halstead has many things to offer, both seasonally and year round. Here, I offer a few ideas to start planning your day trip to this big little city.
You can begin your day with breakfast at Golden Harvest (240 Main St.). The portions are big and the prices are reasonable. Just bring cash, because debit and credit …

Since moving 800 miles from Wisconsin to Kansas last summer, I’ve become well acquainted with the joys of traveling during the holidays. Last year’s adventures included three two-way trips within six weeks, leaving the boyfriend and I exhausted and vowing never to fly again. Which, of course, we will (but we’re only taking one trip this time, thank God). Holiday travel is a just cause for a nervous breakdown, but there are ways to make it easier on yourself. Here are some of mine:
If you’re driving:

Patience is a virtue. You …

Nestled at the crossroads of I-35 and I-70 is a little slice of heaven that I like to call my hometown. Salina, Kansas is where my family and beloved Dalmatian, Betsey Johnson, live. It’s also the place where I made every happy memory I can conjure up.
Salina is bigger town with population just over 50,000 residents, so it has a few city amenities while maintaining it’s “down home Kansas” identity.
So should you find yourself 76 miles north of the ICT, here are five stops you have to make in …

I’m not alone in the belief that Reba’s restaurant and bar is reason enough to make the short drive to Newton. From my northeast Wichita home, I can get there and be seated (provided I have called ahead to reserve a table) more quickly than I can drive to and be seated at any local restaurant. It may be a couple of weeks until owner Reba Ballard and her team rise from the ashes of a November 23 fire that threatened the historic Old Mill Plaza building that houses the …

Last week, I was talking with a friend who told me he had recently been working on the south side. I chimed in to talk about my experience working on South Broadway (at Dillons at 47th and Broadway… don’t get the wrong idea). It was at this point he gave me an “Oh no she didn’t” look and promptly told me that he’d been south but not THAT far south. This conversation solidified that more people should be exposed to the greatness of South Wichita because it’s obvious that some …